Zoned Out
by Dr Namgge
Summary: Lost and stuck in an unknown pit, Sonic must swallow his pride and ask his younger friend Tails for help. But first Tails has to figure out where the hedgehog actually is. Consider how often Sonic pays attention to anything, this isn't going to be easy. [ONESHOT] Written for the Kelviniana forum Summer's Up challenge.


_Written for the Kelviniana forum Summer's Up challenge._

* * *

"Ring ring," the communicator chirped, "ring ring."

Tails downed tools, and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" He wasn't overly busy, just trying to invent another new engine type, something he seemed with alarming frequency.

"Tails," Sonic answered. "It's me. I need a bit of help."

"Help?" the young fox asked, this was not a normal occurrence.

"Yeah," Sonic said embarrassed. "I'm stuck."

Tails blinked. This was not what he was expecting. Admittedly, he wasn't expecting anything, but to hear Sonic call for help was only slightly higher in his expectations than for a pig to sprout wings and open a pilot's academy.

"What's happened?"

"Well," Sonic said, scratching the back of his neck, "I was going for my usual pre-lunch sprint, nothing special, just a three thousand mile dash, when all of a sudden I felt the ground rumble and I fell into this dark dank pit. I tried to jump and climb out, but it's far too high. Do you think you could come and get me?"

Tails giggled, "Wait," he smiled, "You're telling me that you need help because you, a hedgehog, a burrowing species, can't get out of a hole?"

"The walls are solidly built and real slippy." Sonic said, trying to save some face. The hedgehog knew this was embarrassing, and would rather word didn't get out at all. "Could you just get some rope and meet me here?"

"Slow down," Tails said unironically, "Where's here?"

"In a hole, obviously," the blue hedgehog mocked.

"No," Tails said, glaring into the communicator." I mean where are you, what zone are you in?"

"Oh," Sonic replied, realising what the fox was asking, "Umm, I'm not sure. I know it was a green one."

"A green one?" Tails asked, "That's not overly helpful."

"It had a lot of trees."

Tails slapped his own forehead. Sonic was not helping his own situation. "What kind of trees?"

"Tall ones."

"You're on your own," Tails mockingly sighed as he pretended to hang up. If Sonic wasn't going to take this seriously, then Tails figured the least he could do was join in on the joke.

"No wait, Tails," Sonic pleaded. He really didn't want his young friend to turn off the communicator, "I know I'm near a temple."

"A temple?" Tails asked, finally getting somewhere. "What kind, and don't say a big one."

"A large one," Sonic joked, "I'm just teasing; it was one that was really old, covered in moss, looked like a whole bunch of steps."

"A pyramid?"

"Yeah," Sonic answered, hoping that would help.

"How long ago did you pass it?"

"About an hour ago."

"So it's not near then is it?" the two tailed fox asked.

"Well, no. Not really," Sonic said, "but I am at least within an hour of a temple, so surely you can do some sort of science and figure it out."

"Well, I can extrapolate your most likely locations, based on the geography of the planet, and it's known temples, but that might not be enough unless you can tell me more. Do you know which way you were heading?"

"I wasn't carrying a compass." Sonic replied.

Tails clutched his cheeks and dragged his down his face. Sonic didn't always make life easy. "Did you run towards, or away from the sun?"

"Err, away from, mostly. I had to turn a little bit though."

"So you headed west. And you say you ran for about three thousand miles?"

"I didn't get all the way. "Sonic answered, before adding "and I don't know how far I did get before you ask."

"Well, that saves me one question," Tails muttered. Suddenly an idea came to him, "Sonic, are you calling me through your wrist communicator?"

"Yeah..."

"Can you turn on its GPS?"

"It has GPS?" Sonic exclaimed, surprised by the revelation. "How do I do that?"

"Just press the button that looks like a target?"

"You mean the one with the three triangles?"

"Don't press that!" Tails shouted "That's the self destruct button!"

Sonic panicked, "You fitted a bomb to my wrist?"

"Not a bomb, per se" Tails tried to explain, "just a way to stop it working. In case you ever got captured. I didn't want anyone to have access to the information it has."

"Tails," Sonic asked curiously, "What information does this communicator have?"

Tails tapped his thumbs together, "Oh, nothing much, few pre-programmed co-ordinates for useful places, phone numbers for your friends, military missile divert codes, and a couple of personal logs I collect to improve my functionality."

"The usual then?"

"Hey, it's no worse than what your average phone collects about its users."

"Okay," Sonic replied, "I'm turning it on now."

"Cool. What does it say"

"Finding satellites." The hedgehog parroted.

"You really aren't helping yourself today y'know?" Tails asked rhetorically.

"Well you did ask," Sonic replied, "Oh wait, it's got something."

"Oh?"

"It says I'm in the ocean," Sonic replied, before prodding it several times. "Stupid thing must be broken."

That last comment struck one of Tails' nerves. He'd worked quite hard on the communicators, and wasn't pleased to hear them referred to as stupid. Occasionally they were buggy, sometimes to fault, but never stupid.

"I'm guessing you're nowhere near the ocean then?"

"You really think I'd go swimming by choice?"

An awkward silence filled the conversation. Tails was trying to think of other ways to find Sonic, and Sonic was still stuck in a pit, starting to get bored of it.

"Can't you just go looking in your plane?" Sonic asked breaking the silence. He was starting to get frustrated.

"It's really hard to find one hedgehog from the sky. It'd be like trying to find a single painted metal hoop in a pile of shiny gold rings." Tails replied. "Maybe I should ask Amy to help; she never has any trouble finding you."

"Yeah, let's put that suggestion in the 'no' pile."

"Well, I don't really have any other suggestions, bar you screaming really loudly and hoping someone here's you."

"It's worth a shot." Sonic said, before yelling, "Hey, can anyone hear me? I need a bit of help?"

"I don't think it's going to work." Tails commented.

Sonic shouted louder, "I'm stuck in a pit. Over here. Help."

"Sonic, is that you?" came an echoey reply.

Tails could only listen as Sonic shouted over for help. The young fox had honestly suggested it as a joke, and was amazed, not only that it worked, but also that the hedgehog hadn't thought of it until it was suggested. Tails always knew he was cleverer than Sonic, in spite of Sonic being the older of the pair, but he'd always assumed that it was because he was gifted, not that Sonic was stupid.

"How did you get here anyway?"

"I ran, and then I fell." Sonic admitted, very embarrassed over the whole situation.

"I assumed that much, but still, how did you manage to run onto Angel Island?" a very confused Knuckles asked.


End file.
